May Inspire Confidence
by ExodineTheDestroyer
Summary: During a brief visit to the World of the Living, Hanataro saw an interesting commercial advertising an interesting product that he believes could help him with his problem: confessing his love for someone way out of his league. -UnoHana-


_**May Inspire Confidence**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime Bleach**

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

* * *

Hanataro woke up with a yawn and lazily reached for his alarm clock before clumsily trying to turn it off. He missed, of course, and the fragile piece of technology fell to the ground with a deafening "Ding!"

The loud, unexpected noise woke the rest of him up and he slowly glanced around his room before staring at the sun peering through his room's only window.

A small smirk appeared on his face when he realized what time it was and he quickly threw his blanket off before waltzing over to his bathroom.

"This is it! Today's the day!" He thought to himself whilst he stared into his bathroom mirror. A huge grin stretched across his face when he rubbed his chin and felt some facial hair, prompting him to gleefully reach for the tube of Clearasil placed beside his sink.

After unscrewing its cap, he squeezed the tube so that it may relinquish some of the shaving gel it contained. He lathered the gel on the areas around his mouth and chin before using a razor to wipe the foam it had produced away. He rubbed his chin again, noticing that it felt just how he felt right now: _**Smooth**_.

"Oh yeah…" He clicked his tongue and smirked before going through the rest of his grooming schedule:

Shower.

Brush teeth.

Comb hair.

Put on uniform.

Once that was all over with, he grabbed his Medic Pack, locked up his apartment, and headed off to work. He would go see her first -like he always did- to get his task for the day.

Then he would make his move!

As he walked along the streets of the Seireitei, he could hear the smoothest jazz music the human world had to offer playing in the background, cheering him on.

He gave everyone he passed a cool glance and two thumbs up. People were, to say the least, stunned by the boy's sudden level of confidence and coolness… and _**smoothness**_!

He grew bolder and bolder as he continued his walk to the 4th Squad Headquarters.

"Hey, babe; how about you and I grab some lunch later? Call me sometime." Hanataro smiled and winked as he passed -a now stunned- Captain Soifon.

The stunning lasted but three seconds before being replaced by indignant rage. "What did you say to me?" She growled, though the source of her ire was now out of her sight. Normally, Hanataro -or any other male who had talked to Soifon that way- would be dead (or at least wish they were dead).

But right now, nothing -not even _Soifon_- could harm the young healer.

Yes, it seemed he truly was invincible. The only thing that could match his awesome strut and cool stride was his undeniable smoothness. A smoothness that was so smooth that even Captain Zaraki watched him in awe.

"Yo, Zaraki! Let's hang sometime." Hanataro clicked his tongue and gave the thumbs up sign as he passed the 11th Squad Captain. This marked another instance in which he would have been slain without incident: everyone in the 11th Squad hated his guts and desired to punch him whenever they saw fit. By this assumption –which Kenpachi did not fit into since he could not care less about the boy- Kenpachi would have cut him down the moment he opened his mouth; but the Captain just watched the boy strut away.

"…Man… that Hanataro is one bad mother…"

"Shut cho' mouth!" Yachiru interrupted Kenpachi.

"What? I'm just talkin' bout Taro…"

Hanataro heard this brief little exchange and smirked as his confidence level skyrocketed.

This was the day he would ask her. He always had this crush on her, but didn't know how to tell her. Now he knew exactly how he would tell her!

He nearly kicked open the doors of the Squad 4 Headquarters, causing everyone to stare at him in awe as the light from outside turned him into a heavenly silhouette. He continued past the reception desk and made his way into a nearby hallway, flirting with a few girls along the way.

"Hana… taro…" Isane hesitantly asked as she approached the boy. There was something about the boy that just overwhelmed her expectations –her familiarity with him-… His swagger had evolved to-

"Yo Lieutenant."

"Ye-yes?"

"Have you seen the Captain around?" He gave her a smile as he leaned to his right, somehow managing to hold his position as if he were actually leaning on something.

"…She's in her office…" Isane replied, cocking an eyebrow at the boy's smoothness.

"Thanks babe, c'ya."

Hanataro casually pushed off of his nonexistent wall, slicked his hair back and walked past her, prompting time to slow down as though to allow Isane enough time to truly appreciate and admire his bold show of confidence.

"…Babe…?" Isane questioned no one in particular as the boy disappeared from view.

He neared his destination with a grin on his face and an aura of confidence around him.

He closed his eyes to contemplate on how he was going do this.

-**Heart Stealer**-

He'd knock on the door and she'd invite him in.

"Oh! Hello Hanataro, you're a tad bit early. I haven't set up your assignments yet," Unohana would tell him in that sweet, gentle tone of hers.

"Oh, that's okay, I actually came to ask you a question," he would smoothly reply.

"Okay, what do you need to ask me," she would ask, tilting her head to the side in a cute manner.

The moment of truth! He would then approach her desk and casually lean against it.

"Doesn't it get lonely," he would ask her, inching forward with each word. She would blink a few times, confused by his question. Then she would frown slightly whilst trying to figure out what he meant. A cute 'Hmmm' would slip past her lips.

"…Lonely?" She would finally ask.

"Yes… lonely without a _Mr_. Unohana..."

Yeah… that sounds _perfect_!

"H-Hanataro…" she would probably stammer before rising from her chair. He would maneuver around the desk and draw closer to her.

"…You know… I can be really…_ really_ good company…." he would say as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Hanataro! We… we can't! We shouldn't..." She would hesitate.

"We will…" He would mutter as he closed to gap between them.

Then she will be his!

-**Back to Reality**-

He opened his eyes.

"Yeah… that's exactly what I'll do…."

He knocked on the door and was invited in… just as planned.

"Oh! Hello, Hanataro; what brings you here today? Didn't I give you the day off?" Unohana questioned him in her usual sweet and gentle tone.

The question threw him off-guard. A slight hitch… but nothing insurmountable…

He was still feeling good.

"I actually came to ask you a question," he said with confidence.

"Okay, what do you need to ask me?"

Just as planned.

This is it!

He began to approach her desk, but his heart began to race.

The magnitude of her goddess like form began to take hold of him, stifling his confidence as her snow white wings took her higher and higher above his league.

"Uhhhh…. d-did it hurt?" He asked nervously.

What is he doing? This is not how it was supposed to happen!

"Did what hurt?" Unohana tilted her head to the side. She was confused by such an odd question.

"When you fell from heaven… c-cause you're an angel."

Whatever shred of confidence he had left slipped away from him… along with that horribly cheesy pick-up line.

"Hanataro! What's gotten into you all of a sudden," she questioned him with a slight blush marking her features. He shook and stammered as he tried to figure out what he should say.

"Uhhhhh… you're so hot that the sun… uhhh… if I could rearrange the alphabet I would put… I… I'm sorry, Captain Unohana! I won't do it again!"

Following that little outburst, he ran out of the room so fast that even Yoruichi would be jealous. He almost ran over someone when he was leaving, supposedly Iemura judging by the way the person screamed when Hanataro came charging at him, but his mad dash would not slow.

He wished to get as far away from his workplace as he possibly could.

With this single goal clouding his thoughts, Hanataro arrived at his apartment within minutes. Upon reaching the front door –and after fumbling with his key- Hanataro entered his apartment and slammed the door behind him.

He tiredly slammed the door behind him and threw himself on his bed.

"What was I thinking? Trying to date an older woman, let alone my own Captain …" he muttered, staring at his plain white ceiling. He tried to figure what he could've done to avoid humiliation like that.

"Well, don't hit on her in the first place," he mumbled to himself, laughing quietly.

She was still out of his league; even in a hundred years she'd still be out of his league.

Maybe… maybe if he was like Ichigo -strong and cool- he would have a chance with her. He let out a small sigh and rolled onto his side before closing his eyes.

He felt tired…

-**Unohana**-

The behavior of her subordinate had left Unohana confused and a bit bashful.

Was he really hitting on her?

"What could he see in an old maid like me?" She let out a quiet laugh as a light redness lingered upon her cheeks. "Perhaps he was just playing a prank…"

She bit her lip before shaking her head. Hanataro was not that kind of boy. Pulling pranks was not something he would do.

"…He was serious…"

She let out a quiet sigh. After rising from her chair, Unohana walked towards the window behind her. To her surprise –and shame- she spotted Hanataro dashing down an alley. Her heart ached as she could only imagine the embarrassment he felt.

"I should probably go speak with him."

About what, she did not know.

She turned to leave, stopping in her tracks as a series of three gentle knocks on her door caught her attention. "Come in."

The door slowly opened and Isane poked her head in. "I'm sorry for intruding, Captain Unohana." Her superior merely gave her a warm smile.

"It's fine. I wasn't doing anything important."

Her subordinated gave her a slight nod before fully entering the room. Isane's lips parted somewhat, as though she were about to say something.

"What's wrong, Lieutenant Kotetsu?"

"Well… it's about… Hanataro…"

Unohana felt her stomach tighten.

"He was acting strangely when he came in for work today… then he ran out of the building just a few minutes ago…"

Unohana stared at the floor beneath her feet, attempting to avoid eye contact with her subordinate. "…I see… I believe I know what the problem is…"

"You do?" Isane looked hopeful. "Can you help Hanataro?"

Feeling a bit more confident and better about herself, Unohana gave her subordinate another warm smile. "I will try… In fact, I was planning on seeing Hanataro right now…"

"Oh! Of course. I'll do my best to keep things running while you're gone."

Isane smiled before giving her Captain a humble bow.

"Please help Hanataro."

"I promise to do my best."

-**Hanataro's Apartment Door**-

Unohana still had no idea what to do. She had thought about it (what they would talk about) on the short walk over… but she was still drawing blanks… Never in all her years had she had to deal with a situation similar to this… There had been suitors when she was younger –of course- but none of them were like Hanataro.

He was younger by so many years and still held a boy-like innocence…

If she were a few hundred years younger…

She blushed at the thought and swept it under a mental rug.

"I should talk to him… I should let him down gently… He has _so _much ahead in his life and getting romantically involved with me…" She clenched her fists as her words trailed off into silence. Hanataro was a sweet boy. The idea of giving him a chance refused to leave her mind.

She knew the pairing (her and him) would raise eyebrows (especially amongst the Captains). She had learned to ignore such things… but Hanataro…

She would talk to him… perhaps she would talk about the problems such a relationship would bring… If he still wanted to pursue a relationship with her… She would offer him a chance…

After sighing and finding a new well of determination from which she may draw, Unohana approached the door leading to Hanataro's apartment room.

"Hanataro, are you in there?" She asked after gently knocking on the door three times.

No response.

"Hanataro?"

She knocked again.

No response.

She began to worry.

"Hanataro?" She knocked again before twisting the doorknob.

To her surprise (and adding to her worry) the door was unlocked.

She doubt Hanataro would commit suicide… but…

She gently opened the door and slowly scanned her surroundings. "Hanataro?" She soon found him lying on his bed. She quietly approached him and smiled as he silently snored.

"...Hanataro..." Unohana let out a sigh of relief.

Noticing that it had been tossed on the ground and that Hanataro was lying on only the bed sheets, Unohana gently covered her subordinate with his discarded blanket. She pulled back and smiled as he clutched the warm providing object.

Without thinking, she leaned in and kissed his forehead.

"...Sleep tight…" she whispered before leaving.

She stopped upon realizing that leaving whilst the door was unlocked and Hanataro was sleeping would be irresponsible. A sigh escaped her.

"…I need to do this…"

She approached Hanataro again, this time gently placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Hanataro… Hanataro…" She gently shook him until it was apparent that he was waking up. A groggy groan escaped the boy as his eyes creaked open, his body shifting so that he may lie on his back.

It took him a few seconds to realize Unohana was standing by his bed.

"Ah! Ca… Captain…"

He sat up, straight as an arrow, and stared at his superior. She offered him an unsure smile. Hanataro's eyes darted away from her and set themselves upon a movie poster tacked onto the wall in front of him. Seeing her brought a fresh heaping of redness back to his face.

"…I'm sorry…"

Unohana nodded. She would let him say his piece.

"I shouldn't have said… those things… They were inappropriate and…" His voice cracked, prompting him to go silent for a few seconds. "I'm sorry… I'll accept any punishment…"

Unohana took a seat on his bed.

"Hanataro… please look at me…"

It was painful. It just made him feel worse. But he did as she asked.

"You are… a growing young man…"

His eyes deviated from her for a second.

"I am your captain and a… woman beyond your years."

It was better than saying 'old maid'.

"But-"

She raised her hand and he immediately fell silent.

"I am fond of you." She paused as she felt a light redness staining her cheeks. Hanataro looked surprised and mildly hopeful. "I do not wish to see you get hurt… so I doubt anything could occur between us without raising any eyebrows…"

Then she gave him a warm smile as she gently grabbed his right hand with hers.

"I want you to be happy and safe… but if you… if you _really _want to…"

Her words trailed off and she let go of his hand. His hope subsiding, Hanataro looked away from her as she rose from the bed and made her exit.

"…As for your punishment…"

His stomach tightened… until he noticed that his Captain was smiling…

"Your cooking is fantastic. After taking that into consideration… I have decided that you must join me in a dinner for two -prepared by you of course- three days from now."

As the initial shock passed, a smile formed on Hanataro's lips.

"Of course."

-**Author Notes**-

This was one of my first stories on this site…

I heavily modified it (since I disliked how it turned out) and I like this version a bit better.

The last one felt too empty.

I dislike commas… So I sometimes omit them…


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